The Significance Behind The Chrysanthemums

The late 1930s is often referred to the period of the devastating Great Depression and the implementation of new concepts such as women’s suffrage in the United States. Although women were gaining recognition in the patriarchalsociety, their rights remain a controversial issue, in the ingenious short story “The Chrysanthemums,” written by John Steinbeck, Elisa Allen, Henry’s farm wife, feels entrapped in their ranch, in Salinas Valley. In fact, being a woman without children, she spends her time tidying their house until it is crystal clear and taking care of her flower garden. Therefore, the chrysanthemums have numerous functions and meanings; in addition to their literal functions, they represent the children she lacks, Elisa’s inner self and the perceived role that women are expected to have in society.

The fact that her fast-growing chrysanthemums occupy most of her time in her unfulfilling life, they are associated with the absence of her own children. As for her fertile appearance, it is undeniably true that it is a pity for Elisa to not have youngsters; hence, she fills this emptiness by taking serious care of her new sprouts. She ensures that their growth is in the cleanest and best environment, and she handles them with great responsibility: “No aphids were there, no sowbugs or snails or cutworms. Her terrier fingers destroyed such pests before they could get started” (Steinbeck 190). Therefore, she epitomizes the role of a mother by protecting her dear flowers from potential threats, and hoping nothing but the best for them by using rich black soil and packing it tightly around the stems. In other words, in addition to the wire fence surrounding their residency, Elisa acts like not only a shield but also an insecticide, which are ways of caring and guarding her “children”. Furthermore, once successfully grown chrysanthemums have been given to the tinker, this innocent woman proudly watches them take off to the other side of the fence, where she wishes to escape to, by saying: “Good-bye, good-bye… That’s a bright direction. There’s a glowing there” (Steinbeck 196). With this passage, the author emphasizes her hopes for her plants to have a brighter future than her, now that they are freed from the ground. In comparison, as a mother, desiring that the next generation will live better than their present is a fundamental parental concept. In brief, her devoted care towards her chrysanthemums not only gives her purpose, but can be incontestably associated to the childless lifestyle that she loathes.

In essence, the chrysanthemums portray her true self as she becomes one with them throughout the plot. As a result from Henry’s incapacity to comprehend her potential and his close-minded view regarding both sexes, a shortage in their love from their unsatisfied marriage is apparent. For instance, when she proves to her traditional husband that she can do more than just growing flowers because she could also be cultivating apple trees, he fails to grasp her feminist vision by replying: “You’ve got a gift with things… I wish you’d work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big” (Steinbeck 191). In addition, their disconnected relationship is the reasoning behind her actions when she joyfully offered her yellow chrysanthemums to the manipulative tinker. By doing so, she implicitly proffers her love and affection to him the moment he got interested to her flowers, which could be linked to the instant when she thought that he might be attracted to her. Consequently, she becomes more optimistic about love, and her unfulfilling married life. Unfortunately, when she discovers, the night of the couple’s outing, that the tinker was attentive to her only to keep the pot in which her precious flowers were in, she understands that he has decisively denied her intimacy. “Elisa saw a dark speck. She knew…’He might have thrown them off the road. . . But he kept the pot… He had to keep the pot. That is why he couldn't get them off the road” (Steinbeck 197-198). Above all, her feelings are demonstrated through her flowers as shown when she genuinely offered them to the tinker. So, in sum, her inner self can be delineated through the importance of her chrysanthemums.

Moreover, the flowers are significant in this short story where a male-domination society is to the utmost importance; therefore, a woman like Elisa should not break the mold of an obedient farm wife. As a matter of fact, when a bud blossoms, its delicacy and beauty stands out through its petals. Likewise, femininity should be prominent in women. For instance, she conforms to a woman’s standard when “[s]he put on her newest underclothing and her nicest stockings and the dress which was a symbol of her prettiness. She worked carefully on her hair, penciled her eyebrows and rouged her lips” (Steinbeck 197). However, Elisa wishes to accomplish greater things in her purposeless life than doing chores, looking presentable and preparing clothes for Henry’s arrival (Steinbeck 197); she was over powerful at gardening and eager with her scissors (Steinbeck 190). In this gender inequality society, she shall not enjoy watching fights, envy a road life and sharpen scissors on her own; these are all designated for men (Steinbeck 191, 195, 196). In addition to her peculiar thoughts, neither her husband nor the tinker takes her desires seriously by answering: “Just fooling” (Steinbeck 191) or “[i]t ain’t the right kind of life for a woman” (Steinbeck 195). Consequently, loses confidence and hope as she realizes that she is forever stuck inside their fence as a farm wife with no children, as she breaks out in tears in the night (Steinbeck 198). All in all, the chrysanthemums have a precise meaning where women occupy a specific role in society.

In conclusion, the chrysanthemums are nevertheless noteworthy in Steinbeck’s writing. They represent her children since she doesn’t have any of her own, her inner self and her responsibility in the farmhouse. Indeed, no matter if it is portrayed in a metaphorical form or an imagery, they all resulted the strong appearing Elisa, who desires to escape her entrapment within her farm, into becoming as fragile as a flower, sobbing in tears. One can see that her meaningless life is a result from her lack of love and accomplishment.